Mug tray



May 29, 1 962 R. N. JOHNSON MUG TRAY Filed Nov. 18, 1960 INVENTOR.

QEUBEN N. J'OHNJO/V United States Patent 3,036,717 MUG TRAY Reuben N. Johnson, 1101 Wilson St., Onalaska, Wis. Filed Nov. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 70,276 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-88) This invention relates to article holders in general, and in particular to a holding tray for dringing mugs adapted to be hung over the edge of a car window.

It is an object of the invention to provide individual holders for mugs or other beverage containers which are readily suspended in a car [for use of individual occupants. Another object is to adapt such holders to slanting car windows. Yet another object is to provide for orienting the handle of a mug for ready grasping, and to adapt this feature to apply to either side of the car. A further object is to provide drain-off for moisture from mugs. It is also among the objects to provide, on the tray, a cigarette holder as well as a napkin holder.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, which may be briefiy characterized as comprising a shallow, circular cup with an extended wall portion having a hanging hook and a cigarette-holding tray, said cup also having slots for receiving mug handles, and fingers for anchoring a rubber band which serves to hold napkins.

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the following specification, as illustrated in the drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of a portion of the window opening of a car door showing the mug tray hooked over the window, and with a drinking mug and a napkin shown in phantom,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the mug tray,

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

Referring to the drawing by characters of reference, there is shown, in FIGURES 1 and 3, a car door with sliding window 12. The mug tray, preferably of plastic material is cylindrical in form and has a flat bottom 14, and a shallow upright wall 16 having a vertical extension 18 reversely bent at its top to provide an S-shaped hook 20 which is adapted to engage over the top edge of a car window in a spring grip. Conveniently, hook portion 20 may have an upwardly open tray 22 for temporarily holding a cigarette 24. As seen in FIGURE 3, the extension 18 may have a slant to its outer surface to compensate for the slant which is found in some car windows. On its inner face, bottom 14 is provided with radially extending ribs 26 with slant sides and a sharp, upper edge, which keep the mug 28 elevated above the bottom surface 3,036,717 Patented May 29, 1962 ice of the tray and therefore permit drainage of moisture from the outside surface of the mug.

In order to orient the mug in the most convenient position for handling, wall 16 is provided with a pair of opposite, upwardly open slots 30, 32 which receive the handle 34 of the mug and limit the mug to two positions only, which will be selected according to which side of the car the tray is on, or to the preference of the user. Slots 30, 32 are further utilized in the provision, in the forward edges thereof, of fingers 36, 38, behind which are looped the ends 40, 42 of a rubber band 44, which serves to clamp a napkin 46 in position for ready use without undue distraction to the user.

A notch 48 is provided in the outer face of the wall 16 to facilitate grasping of the rubber band 44, as when placing articles between the rubber band and the wall 16.

While a certain preferred embodiment has been shown, various modifications will be evident, and the invention should not, therefore be deemed as limited except as shall appear from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tray for temporary use in a vehicle comprising a shallow, cylindrical cup having oppositely disposed, upwardly opening slots in its side wall, an upward extension on said wall intermediate said slots having a downwardly extending hook portion of S-form at its upper end, an upwardly opening shelf of arcuate section on said hook portion, upwardly extending ribs on the innner surface of the bottom of said cup, and fingers on each end of the portion of said wall opposite said extension and accessible through said slots.

2. A tray for temporary use in a vehicle comprising a shallow, cylindrical cu-p having oppositely disposed, upwardly opening slots in its side wall, an upward extension on said wall intermediate said slots having a downwardly extending hook portion at its upper end, an upwardly opening shelf of arcuate section on said hook portion, upwardly extending ribs on the inner surface of the bottom of said cup, and fingers on each end of the portion of said wall opposite said extension and accessible through said slots.

3. A device as in claim 1, said portion of said wall having an external recess lying on a peripheral line between said fingers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,288,560 Gordon Dec. 24, 1918 1,957,377 Whittle May 1, 1934 2,242,737 Al-freds May 20, 1941 2,633,278 Muniz Mar. 31, 1953 2,705,385 Markward Apr. 5, 1955 

